


Superwoman vs. The Mechanical Monster

by AXEe



Series: Superwoman 'verse [1]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015), Superman (1940)
Genre: A short fusion AU, Alex as Lois Lane, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Astra as Clark Kent, F/F, Inspired by the Fleischer Studios Superman cartoons, Not Canon Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-21
Updated: 2017-11-21
Packaged: 2019-02-04 05:47:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12764442
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: Faster than a speeding bullet...more powerful than a locomotive...able to leap tall buildings in a single bound...this strange visitor from the planet Krypton...the Woman of Steel...Superwoman.    Empowered with incredible strength, Superwoman fights a never ending battle for truth and justice! Disguised as 'Astrid Starr', mild-mannered reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper.





	Superwoman vs. The Mechanical Monster

**Author's Note:**

> OK, as you probably gathered from the summery, this is going to be incredibly corny and melodramatic, just warning you here, I'm already giggling here and I've barely started. Now, for those of you who want to know just what the hell is going on, this one was inspired by the classic Superman cartoons made in the 1940s by Flesicier Studios, who more famously gave us _Popeye_ (the final eight shorts of the seventeen total shorts were produced by a separate studio, Famous Studios).
> 
> The shorts are unique in relation to Superman in three ways 1): They mark the character's first animated appearance, 2): They're the ones which gave us the 'faster than a speeding bullet' intro, and 3): They mark the first time Superman was shown to fly, as the story goes when they animated Superman 'leaping tall buildings in a single bound' the animator felt it looked 'silly' and asked if they could just have him fly instead, Action Comics (DC's predecessor) agreed and Superman appeared flying in the comics soon after.
> 
> The first short released was even nominated for a 1941 Academy Award for Best Short Subject, Cartoon, but lost to the short 'Lend a Paw", staring Mickey Mouse and Pluto (Disney strikes again) 
> 
> The shorts are also some of the most richly animated for the time, the animators frequently used a technique called 'rotoscoping', where animated drawings are traced over live action footage, resulting in some really lovely detail in the final product. The second short released, "The Mechanical Monster" (which this fic was inspired by, although I've take several liberties with the actual plot) also features Clark Kent ducking into a phone booth to change into Superman, the first time that idea was featured in any Superman story in any medium, even though it's now indelibly linked to the character (Christopher Reeve's famous double-take when confronted with the then-new kiosk-style phone booths in _Superman: the Movie_ earning a laugh from audiences everywhere). "The Mechanical Monsters" was also part of the inspiration for a sequence from the 2004 film "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow", where giant robots attack New York City.
> 
> Anyway, I could go on, but I see that your eyes are starting to glaze over, one final thing, the shorts, in addition to being on DVD are also in the public domain in the U.S., you can download them off Wikipedia if you wanted to.
> 
> Anyway, enjoy :=)

******

In most cities, nighttime in usually calm and quiet, but for the past several nights National City was filled with the sound of breaking glass and a strange, buzzing hum as a strange shape broke into various museums and art galleries, looting priceless art and artifacts. The few witnesses to these strange robberies were far and few between, but those that were still in any shape to talk described a 'mechanical monster' that would break in, smashing through doors and vaults with frightening ease, remove anything of value, and then leave the same way it came.

After about a week of these bizarre, brazen robberies, the _National City Tribune_ reported that a valuable collection of Leonardo Da Vinci's artwork would be displayed at the National City Gallery, the works were estimated to be worth well over five million dollars and the article also added that police were taking extra precaution to ensure the artwork would be safe...

******

Entering the National City Gallery on the day of the exhibition, Alex Danvers smirked as she spotted a familiar figure studying one of the sketches

"Astrid" she called out.

The other woman turned, smiling broadly "Alex! Hello there!" she greeted. Alex smiled at her exuberance, she was no Superwoman, but even with her large oversized glasses, too-large and frumpy wardrobe, and her hair piled atop her head in a neat bun, Astrid Starr still made Alex smile. Adjusting the aforementioned glasses covering her grey-green eyes, she smiled at Alex "so, what brings you here?" she asked

"Hank asked me to cover the exhibition here," Alex explained. She frowned "what are you doing here?"

"The same," Astrid replied "I guess Hank wants to make sure no detail is missed" she remarked

"I guess not" Alex replied as she dug around in her handbag for her notepad. As she did so, she couldn't help but stare at Astrid, the other woman--in her own way--was quite lovely, if she dressed a bit less conservatively, maybe let her hair down, she'd be a quite attractive woman. In truth, Alex herself found the woman quite attractive for reasons she couldn't quite figure out, despite how _wrong_ those kinds of thoughts were, after all women who were attracted to other women were perverts.

No, she decided, nothing that felt this _right_ could be wrong.

She was broken out her thoughts (and her search for her notepad) by a loud buzzing sound. She looked up at Astrid, puzzled, as a terrified scream pierced the air

" _IT'S THE MECHANICAL MONSTER!!!! RUN!!!_ "

Gunfire suddenly rang out as the police, armed with tommy guns, opened fire on the mechanical monstrosity as it landed. Vaguely human-shaped in form, it was close to a story tall, marching past the firing police officers with a wobbling, limping gait, smashing through the windows of the Gallery by simply walking through them, shards of glass flying everywhere.

Alex grabbed Astrid's arm

"Come on! You want to get trampled?!" tugging fiercely on the other woman's arm, Alex dragged her outside amidst the throngs of panicking people now fleeing the Gallery like a horde of ants.

"There! Telephone booth!" Astrid pointed towards a nearby phone booth "wait here, I'll phone Hank" she instructed. As she ducked inside the phone booth to make the all-important call to their editor, Alex looked back towards the Gallery. That thing was still in there. Sparing a brief glance behind her towards the phone booth, she charged back inside the gallery, ducking behind a potted plant as the machine began methodically strip the artwork off the walls, focusing solely on the Da Vinci artwork and leaving the rest behind, as it loaded them into a bag of some sort at its feet. Once the bag was full, a hatch on its back opened, like a mail slot almost.

Grunting, Alex sprinted over and, gripping the lip of the slot, slid right inside along with the bag containing the artwork.

Hello, Pulitzer...

******

Meanwhile, back outside, Astrid exited the phone booth and froze at sight of a non-existent Alex Danvers

"Alex?" she called out, watching as the mechanical monstrosity suddenly fled the Gallery, it arms now held out like wings. But where was Alex? Astrid thought.

Unless...

She groaned as she watched the machine rapidly gain altitude, knowing _exactly_ where Alex was now

 _This_ , she decided, looked like a job for Superwoman.

ducking back inside the phone booth, she quickly stripped out of her civilian clothing and emerged clad in black and silver attire. Gone was 'Astrid Starr, reporter' and in her place, clad in the black and silver of her House, was 'Astra In-ze, general".

Taking to the air, she quickly reached the rapidly fleeing machine. Utilizing her x-ray vision she could see Alex inside the machine itself along with the stolen artwork. Landing atop the machine, she dug her fingers into the seam, trying to pry it open. At that moment, the machine suddenly preformed a barrel roll, and Astra tumbled the hatch fell open, both Alex and the stolen artwork falling out...

******

Sucking in a desperate gulp of air, Alex failed and kicked as she fell through the air, gasping in surprise as a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around her

"Superwoman!" she gasped as she looked up at her savior

"Why, Ms. Danvers, we really must stop meeting this way" the heroine quipped. Gasping, Alex twisted her head and looked over the other woman's shoulder, seeing the machine still fleeing

"It's getting away! Go! Go!" she ordered

"I see it," Superwoman replied "hold on" she instructed and suddenly they were rocketing forward, rapidly gaining on the machine as it veered off towards the mountains, entering a narrow gap and disappearing

"Where'd it go?" Alex wondered

"Found it" Superwoman declared, suddenly shooting forward and landing inside a laboratory of some sort

"What a story this'll make" Alex breathed as she took in the scope of the place

"That's assuming we live to tell the tale" Superwoman remarked as a dozen more of the machine's suddenly surrounded them. Raising their hands, jets of suddenly shot out towards the two women. Grunting, Superwoman spun, ducking down and throwing her cape up and over Alex and as the flames hit the indestructible material without harm, Alex could suddenly see the other woman's features up close. Those cheekbones, those eyes!

It couldn't be! It was!

Superman was Astrid! Astrid was Superwoman! Alex's mild-mannered co-worker, the woman who got queasy if Alex drove too fast was actually Superwoman! What a story that would make! 'Superwoman unmasked!', 'The Real Superwoman!'

No. Wait. What was she doing?! She couldn't just sell out the other woman like that! Have her be hounded by all sorts of people, day and night, and what if the government got involved? The White House wasn't exactly quiet in voicing its disapproval in having a superpowered being, a woman no less, flying around without restrictions.

"No" she whispered. Superwoman looked over at her, frowning

"What is it?" she asked

"I'll tell you when we get back to the office" Alex replied. She could see the surprise on Superw--on _Astrid's_ \--face, but the heroine let it slide for the moment as the flames died down

"No! No! No!"

The two women looked up to see a man standing on a balcony of some sort, obviously controlling the machines

"Why aren't you dead?" he demanded "you're supposed to be dead!" he accused

"Ah," Astrid remarked "Dr. Mon-El. We meet again"

"Superwoman! This'll fix you!" he proclaimed, pulling on a large lever. A trap door suddenly opened beneath Alex, and screaming, she plunged through it. There was a whoosh of air and Astrid caught her

"Wait here," she instructed as she set Alex down. Turning she shot around in front of the fleeing Dr. Mon-El, griping him by the front of his shirt and lifting him up off the floor "now, now, Doctor," she began "you must never leave your patients"

Kicking and struggling to no avail in her grip, he let out a childish wail

"I won't go back! You can't make me! I won't! I won't! I won't! I won't!"

"Oh stop that" Astrid lightly tossed him across the room, where he landed against the wall. Curling up in a ball he continued his temper tantrum...

******

**Criminal mastermind Behind Mechanical Thefts Arrested, Stolen Art Recovered**

"It's a good story" Astrid commented the next day

"Thanks," Alex replied "but," she reached up and gently plucked Astrid's glasses off her face "its all thanks to you"

"Alex..."

"Hey," Alex gave her arm a reassuring squeeze "its all right, I'm not going to say anything. You have just as much a right to privacy as anyone else," she handed the glasses back " _but_ , I want some answers"

Astrid chuckled

"I suppose that seems fair," she remarked "meet me on the roof later tonight" she requested

******

At exactly five o'clock, the same time she clocked out, Alex found herself standing on the roof of the _Tribune_. But, so far, no Astrid. Had she blown Alex off? Decided that it wasn't worth the risk? Alex wouldn't blame her, she ruined a lot of lives with her stories

"Alex"

Turning, she watched as Astrid, still dressed in her frumpy civilian clothing, delicately floated above the roof

"Wow" was all she could say as Astrid landed

"I always thought so," the other woman remarked as she slipped off her glasses and let her hair down, that streak of white that always fascinated Alex about Superwoman now on prominent display "so, questions?"

"Oh, right," Alex felt her face heat up "well, I guess first of all, just...who are you?"

"My name is 'Astra In-Ze'," Astrid began "I was born and raised on the planet Krypton and then was force to flee here"

"Planet Krypton?" Alex echoed "so...you're not...?"

"Human? No" Astrid--or 'Astra' rather--shook her head

"But you look so..." Alex tried

Astra nodded "I know, I was surprised at that too"

"So," Alex began "can all of your people do what you do? Fly? Catch bullets?"

"No," Astra shook her head "the best I can figure is there's something about Earth that affects me, that gives me these powers, something in the air, the water, the sunlight even"

Alex nodded, frowning "You said you were forced to flee, so...what happened?"

Astra sighed "My world is very different from Earth, in some ways we're far more advanced, and in other ways, far behind. On Krypton, anyone who speaks out against the government is branded a traitor and is given the choice of either exile or imprisonment. I choice exile"

"What did you do?"

"I criticized our government's policies regarding the environment"

"That's it?" Alex asked skeptically "you told them that they were cutting down too many trees and they banished you?"

Astra shrugged "Basically"

"Incredible" Alex breathed

"No I'm not," Astra shook her head "I'm a criminal, Alex. A criminal who's trying to do right, but still a criminal"

"I don't believe that," Alex shook her head "the things you do, even without all those amazing powers. Astra, if more humans were like you, the world would be a far better place"

Astra frowned, slowly reaching out and cupping Alex's cheek, and despite her upbringing screaming at her at how wrong it was, Alex found herself leaning to the other woman's touch, found herself curling a hand around the back of Astra's neck and leaning in for a kiss, and oh god above, Astra was kissing her back! And it felt....glorious.

Pulling away for air, Alex panted for breath as she looked into bright, grey-green eyes. Astra smirked at her

"I didn't know you had it in you" she remarked

"Neither did I," Alex admitted "this might sound crazy," she began "but....can we do that again?"

Astra laughed richly

"Yes," she grinned as she cupped Alex's face "yes, we can do that again. As many times as you like"

Alex let out a whoop of joy

**END**

**Author's Note:**

> And they lived happily ever after :=). Let me know what you thought :=)


End file.
